As usual the first week of practice was reserved for getting to know each other and the Canadian Strength Test which has become the norm the first week of practice. I think it's a good way to get things going because not only is it a good benchmark but it also is a quick reminder of what it's like not only to push yourself but to hurt a little bit as well. Most if not all of the athletes were just coming off of a spring sport so the overall effort was great to see.
We did not have any record setting performances in overall scores though we did have a number of improvements of personal best which is a good indicator things are progressing. We will do this test again in August and hope to have another set of PR's.
This year is also the largest number of new and young athletes to the team which bodes well for the future. In the past we have had a lot of athletes join us as they are U18 which is great but also leaves little time for development. This year we have a solid group of U14's and U16's which will give them a chance to develop over the course of a number of years.
The second week of practice we got back to getting on roller skis. The first couple weeks of practice are reserved for specific strength, balance, agility, body awareness, and overall confidence on roller skis. Usually the second week of July we get in to a little more intensity but for now we have been working on the basics.
We usually have a solid group of collegiate skiers around for the summer that will join us from time to time, This summer though we have our first ever R.N.R post graduate athlete! Hannah Cole ( HF-L) just graduated from Williams College and is going to continue skiing next year for Bridger Ski Foundation in Bozeman MT. She is going to be around all summer before departing for BSF so that is an added bonus!
